We must pause to consider the stark moment of this truly rare Mantle item. Tip-Top Bread labels were a phenomenon limited to 1952, and though the product was available nationally, the vast majority were distributed in the Northeast. The label itself was terribly perishable. In the 1950s, bread was wrapped in heavy sheets of wax paper and these labels bearing portraits of ballplayers served the purpose of sealing the ends of the loaves thus preserving the freshness of the bread. Most labels had no chance of ever escaping a loaf end without terminal damage and many were creased the moment they were aggressively applied to seal the end of the loaf. Tip-Top's issue was comprised of 48 different designs which were biased toward the three New York teams. Rewarding it was to thrill to the images of Duke Snider, Yogi Berra or Roy Campanella. But who, in 1952, gave one hoot for some pretender named Mickey Mantle? Even a student of the game saw no particular merit here... really, just a body to occupy center field until the Yankees could find another DiMaggio. Mantle hit an uninspiring .267 the previous year, and as 1952 progressed, it looked like he would probably lead the league in strikeouts -- all quite unacceptable for an aspiring NY Yankee. The upshot of all this relevance is that a piece such as this had to survive 1952 (as most did not) in order to be appreciated a half century later, and of all the labels to save why save Mantle? This early Mantle relic has not only endured the years, but has done so, to arrive at the present in a state of the hobby's most exclusive level of quality. Because of its glorious condition, we surmise that this piece was likely never applied to the retail product. The most accomplished collector in Mantle, or Yankee obscurities must not ignore this splendid piece. Visually near mint/mint and pristine, never having been applied to the end of a loaf of Tip-Top Bread.